2002 Ford Escape

I recently had the chance to rent a loaded Escape for a week-long business trip--an experience I have been looking forward to having. Overall, I liked the Escape a great deal, but I'm not sure I'd plunk down my own hard-earned dollars to own one.

The Escape does everything well. It is amazingly roomy and well-laid-out for such a small vehicle. Seat comfort was great, there was TONS of cargo room, ride and handling were very enjoyable, and the V6 performed well. Ford offers lots of well thought out gadgets and toys in the Escape--things like armrests and storage compartments and radio controls feel especially well placed and engineered. The Escape was easy to drive for long periods and was an enjoyable, airy place to spend time.

On the highway and back roads, the Escape handles better than almost every other SUV I've ever driven, large and small. I even had the chance to take the Escape off-road a little bit, and it was less happy there. The Escape felt much more like a tall station wagon than a true SUV while off the pavement. I recall my mother's Explorer feeling much the same when taken off the beaten path. Of course, most folks will never use the Escape's SUV-ness in anything other than snow and rain, and I'm sure that the all-wheel-drive is perfect in these situations. However, the AWD was slow to engage off-road and the minimal ground clearance (for an SUV) didn't help matters.

My complaints about the Escape are, ironically, centered around its strengths. Though the Ford is very good at lots of things, it seems to have sacrificed being truly great in any areas to be so competent overall. The V6 is powerful, but it sucks up gas and is VERY noisy. So much so that the radio has to be blared to drown out the sound. As long as you have plenty of CDs which you enjoy on hand you will never mind, but there is no Escaping the fact that this is a noisy (and thirsty) vehicle. The ride and handling are great in 90% of situations, but one cannot sling this thing around a highway off-ramp at high speeds. Finally, to make such a fine vehicle it feels that Ford has cut costs in building materials and construction. The Escape I drove had lots of rattles and felt and sounded generally loose, but this may be due to the fact that it was a rental and rentals are usually beaters. Still, a brand new car shouldn't have felt so loose.

I have been thinking about getting a small SUV, and the Escape would be high on my list. So would a number of other terrific choices, though. I feel that a Jeep Liberty is just as pleasant a place to spend time, and the Jeep has lots more character, both inside and out. The Jeep also handles poorly, though, and is just as thirsty and loud as is the Escape. Then again, the Jeep would go literally anywhere, on road or off. I feel that the new Land Rover Freelander is similar--more uniqueness but less utility. I think if it were my $$ on the line, I'd go for the redesigned Honda CR-V. Sure, it's be a little slower than the Escape and certainly more dull to both look at and drive, but the Honda's quality and fit-and-finish would be impeccable, it would be more efficient, and have even more room. Of course, none of this changes the fact that the Escape is a great all-around car and I would certainly recommend it to friends who have lots of $$ for fuel and who are already hard of hearing.